Apparatus for re-refining used oil



Sept. 7, 193 7.

J. H. VITAL APPARATUS FOR REI-REFINING USED OIL Filed March 20, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l J. H. VITAL Sept. 7, `1 93 7.

APPARATUS FOR RE-REFINING USED OIL' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 20, 1936 o Patented Sept. 7, 1937 I autant" PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS-FOR'RE-REFINING USED OIL John-,11. Vital,` New Orleans, La. Application March 20, 1936,'Seral No. 69,960

. V, 1 Claim.

" This invention relates to oil refining and processes, andl more particularly to the recovery` of lubricating'oil,

An object of this invention is the provision'of an improved process by means of `which lubrieating` oil which has been in use in engines or motors may be re-ref'lned and reconditioned and any ingredients in the/form of solids, liquids or acids removed therefrom so that the oil will be returned to substantially its original viscosity and its original condition.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved process and means therefor by which any light fraction or acid which may have combined with the oil will be readily removed, the `lighter fraction orfractions being taken out of the oil in the form of vapor which may be subsequently treated for recovery and separation of the ingredients incorporated in such lighter fractions. o

A further objectV of this invention is the provision of a relatively simple process and means therefor which is so constructed that at desired times the apparatus embodied in the process may be easily andquickly cleaned.

Still another object of this invention is an improved process and means therefor by which oil may betreated in a substantially continuous process, the means being such" that a relatively small plant is capable of treating a relatively large quantity of oil. l 1

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed `out in the claim appended hereto. l

`lin the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or` corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of an oil refining and recovery means embodied in the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the device. i

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

Figure l is a transverse sectional View taken through one of the recovery or refining stills.

Referring to thedrawings, wherein like symbols refer to like parts throughout the several views, thenumeral I designates generally a still in the form of a substantially horizontally disposed cylindrical receiver II provided with flanged opposite ends I2 and I3 againstwhich or heads or plates `Ill and I5, respectively engage. 55

The head" I4 is preferably the `front head or Wall, and .issecured to the flange `I2 by means `of bolts or likev fastening devices sothat when desired this head or Wall may be readily removed. The head I5 constitutes the rear head or Wall and engages against the flange I3, being secured (cl. 19e-106) thereto by means of bolts or like vices.

Preferably the lreceiver Il is disposed on a slight angle to the horizontal so that the oil and other material placed therein will gravitatingly run` toward the front head or wall I4 and into an outlet connection I6 having a valve I'I connected thereto. The receiver I0 is provided with an intake I8 adjacent the top thereof, and preferably at a point between the ends thereof, and the material discharged into the receiver I0 enters through this intake I8. A steam pipe I9 is connected to the head I4 at a point adjacent the bottom thereof so that steam of a suitable temperature may be discharged into the receiver Il) to facilitate the vaporization of the lighter fractions contained in the oil, in addition to maintaining the oil at the proper temperature.

The front wall or head I4 is provided with a sight glass so that the proper quantity of oil may be maintained in the receiver, and a thermometer 2I ls also connected to the front wall or head I4 for the purpose of determining the temperature of the oil. AA pressure gauge 22 is carried by the head I4 to determine the pressure `withinthe receiver Ill. A burner 23 is disposed below the receiver and is used to initially heat the oil inthis upper receiver ID during the start of operations, it being understood that after the oil inl the receiver I0 has been heated to the proper temperature for initial treatment thereof this burner 23 is then cut off and heat derived as hereinafter indicated.

Vapors `arising from the oil in the receiver Ill are taken off through a vapor line 24 which is connected to a suitable suction means (not shown) and these vapors may then be treated in any suitable rnanner for recovery of the various fractions contained therein. When the oil is discharged into the receiver or still I0, a filtering means in the form of fullers earth is also discharged into the receiver, and the entire mass is then agitated at the same time thatheat is applied thereto by means of an agitator comprising a pair of elongated blades 25 which are secured to radial arms 25 carried by a hub 21, there being a hub l21 and radial arms 2B adjacent each end of the receiver Il). The hubs 21 are fixed to a drive shaft 28 which is journalled in the heads I4 and I5. The forward end of the shaft 28 engages a bearing in the form of a stufIing box or gland 29 and terminates within a cap 30 carried by the stufolingbox 29. The other end of the shaft 28 extends through a stumng box or gland 3| carried by the head I5, and a sprocket wheel 32 is secured to the projecting end of the shaft 28.

"Preferably the longitudinal blades 25 substantially contact with the inside surface of the receiver I0, and the radial arms 26 also substantially engage with the inside surface of the heads I4 fastening deand l5 so that no solids or the like may accumulate within the receiver. The agitator, com,- prising the blades 25 and the arms 26, may be removed from the receiver by loosening the head I5 and drawing the agitator out through the rear of the receiver.

When the oil is drawn from the still l0 by opening the valve l1, the oil will pass through a branch pipe 33 which is connected to the outlet pipe I6, and this pipe 33 is connected to intake pipes 34 and 35 which are connected to fractionating stills 36 and 31, respectively, which are disposed below the upper or initial fractionating still l0. The upper still IG is supported in an elevated position by means of beams 38 and 39 which rest on top of the lower stills 36 and 31.

The lower stills 36 and 31 are supported on beams 4D and 4| which rest on the upper ends of supporting posts 42 and 43, respectively. A casing or housing 44 engages about the stills I0, 36 and 31 and cncloses substantially all of these stills with the exception of the ends thereof, as shown in Figs. l and 3. The lower stills 36 and 31 are of identical construction, and in fact are identical with the upper still i6, having rotatable agitating means 45 and 46, respectively, disposed therein which are mounted on shafts 41 and 48, respectively. Burners 49 and 5G are provided for the stills 36 and 31, respectively, and after the device has been initially heated, the upper burner 23 may be cut off and the heat from the lower burners 49 and 50 utilized, through the medium of the casing 44 to keep the upper still at the proper temperature.

The still 36 is provided with a dome 5| which is connected thereto by means of a pipe 52, and the vapors entering this dome 5| are drawn off through an outlet or suction line 53. The still 31 also has a dome 54 connected thereto by means of a pipe 55, and the vapors entering the dome 54 are drawn 01T through an outlet or suction line 56.

The shaft 41 has a sprocket 51 secured to the rear end thereof, and the shaft 48 has a sprocket 58 secured to the rear end thereof, and a flexible member 59 in the form of a chain or the like is trained over the sprockets 32, 51 and 58, and a driving member 60 engages a suitable sprocket secured to one of the shafts, and in the present instance a sprocket secured to the shaft 41. The driving belt or chain 60 may be connected to a suitable source of power supply (not shown) so that the agitating members in the various stills or receivers may be rotated at the desired speed.

The ends or heads of the stills may be suitably braced by means of braces 6| in the form of angle bars or the like so that the pressures within the stills will not distort the heads or end walls thereof and thus prevent the cleaning of the end walls by means of the radial arms of the agitating members.

The oil discharged from the upper still IU may be discharged into either or both of the lower stills 36 and 31, by means of valves 62 and 63, the valve 62 controlling the passage of oil to the still 36 and the valve 63 controlling the passage of oil to the still 31. The stills 36 and 31 have outlets 64 and 65, respectively, and after proper treatment of the oil in either or both of these stills, the oil together with the filtering means is removed through the outlets 64 and 65 and then discharged into settling tanks where the final process in the cleaning of the oil takes place.

In the use and operation of this device, the untreated oil, together with a suitable filtering means is discharged into the upper still I3 through the intake pipe I8, and the mass heated by the steam from the steam line I9 in addition to heat from the burner 23 and heat from the lower burners 49 and 50 which rises within the casing 44. While the heating of the oil is in process, the shaft 28 is rotated so that the agitating means comprising the blades 25 and the arms 26 will prevent settling of the filtering means incorporated in the oil and disposed in the receiver IG, in addition to preventing the accumulation of any coke or like deposits on the interior of the receiver Ill.

A considerable number of relatively light fractions will arise as vapor in the receiver IIJ and will be drawn out through the vapor line 24, while the residue will then be discharged into one or both of the heavier fractionating stills 36 and 31, depending upon the quantity of oil which is being handled through the device. The material in the lower stills 36 and 31 will be heated additionally by the burners 49 and 5D, and by the steam discharged by the steam lines 66 and 61, respectively. The higher temperature applied to the oil in the lower stills will vaporize the heavier fractions not removed in the upper still I0, and the remaining oil will then be free from acids and other uids which accumulated therein during the use of the oil as a lubricating agent. It is, of course, understood that the filtering agent used in this process will remove any of the solids embodied in the oil and after the reconditioned oil has been drawn off from the lower stills 36 and 31, the filtering agent may be readily separated from the oil through either settling or some other conventional process.

It is obvious that various changes and modications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claim.

What is claimed is:

An oil refining means comprising a. plurality of triangularly arranged cylindrical still members, a housing enclosing said members, the lowermost of said members being disposed in substantially the same horizontal plane, a feed pipe connecting the lowermost members together, a discharge pipe connecting the uppermost of said members with said feed pipe, a pair of valves in said feed pipe on opposite sides of said discharge pipe, a valve in said discharge pipe, a feed line connected to the uppermost of said members, individual vapor drawoif means for each of said members, a heating means in said housing beneath each member, each of said members having at end walls, a shaft journalled in each member, a scraping member secured to each shaft, said scraping member including diametrically opposed parallel blades contacting with the cylindrical surface of the still member, and a pair of end wall scraping blades secured to said shaft and to the ends of said first blades and contactying throughout the length thereof with the inner faces of said end walls, and means for rotating said shafts in unison.

JOHN H. VITAL. 

